Abstract

Australia’s energy future is at the crossroads and the role of renewable sources is in focus. Biomass from sustainably managed forests provide a significant opportunity for electricity and heat generation and production of liquid fuels. Australia has extensive native forests of which a significant proportion are on private land. However, there is limited knowledge on the potential capacity of this resource to contribute to the expansion of a biomass for bioenergy industry. In addition, there are concerns on how to reconcile biomass harvesting with environmental protection.